The stuff not carved from stone

[dark water]

Shout out to Zero-G too!
I'm always excited when one of their sales happens.

[wagtunes]

Somebody who remembers how miserable it was in the 70s and 80s.

It's all relative though. Back then, people were used to how the instruments were and their limitations. So at that time, it was just business as usual.

It wasn't just the instruments. Do you have any idea what it cost to put together a home studio that could do what we can do today in our DAW? Oh wait, you couldn't. Not unless you were a freakin millionaire. My Teac A3440 4 channel reel to reel was $1200. Just for the reel to reel, for 4 channels. So if you were a solo artist, you had a track for vocals, piano, bass and drums. That was it. If you wanted more, you had to bounce stuff around. And the more you bounced, the worse it sounded.

I wouldn't go back to those days with a gun to my head.

[donkey tugger]

Somebody who remembers how miserable it was in the 70s and 80s.

It's all relative though. Back then, people were used to how the instruments were and their limitations. So at that time, it was just business as usual.

It wasn't just the instruments. Do you have any idea what it cost to put together a home studio that could do what we can do today in our DAW? Oh wait, you couldn't. Not unless you were a freakin millionaire. My Teac A3440 4 channel reel to reel was $1200. Just for the reel to reel, for 4 channels. So if you were a solo artist, you had a track for vocals, piano, bass and drums. That was it. If you wanted more, you had to bounce stuff around. And the more you bounced, the worse it sounded.

I wouldn't go back to those days with a gun to my head.

Always amuses me to see the crazy kids on the FL forum indignantly banging on about being limited to 125 mixer tracks. Ere you go lads, this is yer recording gear. Crack on...

p1.jpg

I used to eat coal etc..

[wagtunes]

Somebody who remembers how miserable it was in the 70s and 80s.

It's all relative though. Back then, people were used to how the instruments were and their limitations. So at that time, it was just business as usual.

It wasn't just the instruments. Do you have any idea what it cost to put together a home studio that could do what we can do today in our DAW? Oh wait, you couldn't. Not unless you were a freakin millionaire. My Teac A3440 4 channel reel to reel was $1200. Just for the reel to reel, for 4 channels. So if you were a solo artist, you had a track for vocals, piano, bass and drums. That was it. If you wanted more, you had to bounce stuff around. And the more you bounced, the worse it sounded.

I wouldn't go back to those days with a gun to my head.

Always amuses me to see the crazy kids on the FL forum indignantly banging on about being limited to 125 mixer tracks. Ere you go lads, this is yer recording gear. Crack on...


p1.jpg

I used to eat coal etc..

We are definitely spoiled today.

[mrdoghead]

this is yer recording gear. Crack on....


p1.jpg

I used to eat coal etc.

Yes, I still have a Porta.

Even the first track sounded bad. At least on reel to reel the first sounded good.

Though there were and are uses for tape degradation sounds. (And digital degradation can be just awful - there are also consequences to overmanipulation audio in digital, and the results are not attractive. That's much easier to avoid, however.) Working with limitation can inspire new approaches to doing things. Once inspired, a relative lack of limitation turns out to be really pleasant.

[mheo]

I would not confuse "music" (70s-80s-90s: people playing - or at least trying to play - real instruments and performing on stage) with "computer music" (nowadays: people mixing audio loops in their bedroom and calling themselves "producers" or smth). From this standpoint, a 50$ acoustic guitar + a lowly recorder were more than enough for your dream of success. At present, on the contrary, so called "producers" need at least $1,000$-1,500 (hardware+software) to express their artistic aspirations (still wishful thinking in 99% of cases, as it has always been). I guess something similar happens with photography (Photoshop and the likes + millions of smartphone cameras making everyone a photograph) and cinema (Premiere, Final cut, and again millions of smartphones + youtube...)? Let alone ebooks, blogs, social media(s) and the multitude of aspiring writers, reporters, thinkers and influencers around the digital world... Is it an optical illusion, due to virtualization? I think it is. Even money ("bitcoin") is starting to get virtual now...

[jancivil]

unnecessary dichotomies

Not all people using a computer to create their tracks are loops-mixing Producers.
Perhaps not even a majority. That's a sort of illusion, I don't know what that is supposed to do on topic.

They need at least 1000 dollars, really? So? What am I supposed to do from no money in any period? I was a classical guitarist and the main reason i dropped it was the instrument needed was far too dear (easily over $1000), particular after I had one stolen.

My drum machine in 1986 cost 900 + tax. Then there's the DX7 for 1699, the Ensoniq Mirage the same, then you get some kind of 4-track, we had the cassette one and I had the Teac reel-to-reel.

in 2003 I bought BFD for 349. I'm doing what I could never do short of having hundreds of millions all told (one orchestral project already close to a million), and all the people making fake music in the world changes nothing about it.

[donkey tugger]

I would not confuse "music" (70s-80s-90s: people playing - or at least trying to play - real instruments and performing on stage) with "computer music" (nowadays: people mixing audio loops in their bedroom and calling themselves "producers" or smth). From this standpoint, a 50$ acoustic guitar + a lowly recorder were more than enough for your dream of success. At present, on the contrary, so called "producers" need at least $1,000$-1,500 (hardware+software) to express their artistic aspirations (still wishful thinking in 99% of cases, as it has always been). I guess something similar happens with photography (Photoshop and the likes + millions of smartphone cameras making everyone a photograph) and cinema (Premiere, Final cut, and again millions of smartphones + youtube...)? Let alone ebooks, blogs, social media(s) and the multitude of aspiring writers, reporters, thinkers and influencers around the digital world... Is it an optical illusion, due to virtualization? I think it is. Even money ("bitcoin") is starting to get virtual now...

You've got the first part at least completely arse roads round lad. The 'lowly recorder' alone for example (before any instruments, effects, mics, cables etc) cost around £300-400 in the late 80s- well over £1000 in today's money..



Know them..

[vurt]

right, now! that's challote!

[Examigan]

Nvm

[Examigan]

Somebody who remembers how miserable it was in the 70s and 80s.

It's all relative though. Back then, people were used to how the instruments were and their limitations. So at that time, it was just business as usual.

It wasn't just the instruments. Do you have any idea what it cost to put together a home studio that could do what we can do today in our DAW? Oh wait, you couldn't. Not unless you were a freakin millionaire. My Teac A3440 4 channel reel to reel was $1200. Just for the reel to reel, for 4 channels. So if you were a solo artist, you had a track for vocals, piano, bass and drums. That was it. If you wanted more, you had to bounce stuff around. And the more you bounced, the worse it sounded.

I wouldn't go back to those days with a gun to my head.

Always amuses me to see the crazy kids on the FL forum indignantly banging on about being limited to 125 mixer tracks. Ere you go lads, this is yer recording gear. Crack on...


p1.jpg

I used to eat coal etc..

We are definitely spoiled today.

I had that same model of 4 track recorder.

[Examigan]

It’s crazy what you can get for the price of one of those 4-tracks today:

Tascam DP-24SD Portastudio 24-Track Digital Recorder $499.99
https://www.zzounds.com/item--TASDP24SD ... gIgrPD_BwE

[glokraw]

I wonder how many daw disaster plugin-reg refugees have one of these?
I've been pondering opening up an old ide portastudio, and trying to format a
small old SSD with the Tascam. Got a spare ide to sata adaptor for newer drives.
Might be 40 miinutes well spent.
Cheers